Cairo (TDI): Egypt rejected an Israeli opposition leader’s proposal on Wednesday that it take over the administration of Gaza, terming the idea “unacceptable” and contrary to longstanding Egyptian and Arab policy.
“Any plans or proposals that circumvent the constants of the Egyptian and Arab stance on the enclave are unacceptable,” foreign ministry spokesman Tamim Khallaf said, a day after Israel’s Yair Lapid floated the idea.
Khallaf said any proposals bypassing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state were “half-solutions” that risk prolonging the dispute rather than solving it.
He stated that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, are integral parts of the Palestinian territories that must be given under “full Palestinian sovereignty and management.”
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On Tuesday, Lapid suggested Egypt should run the Gaza Strip for at least 8 years after the war is over, in exchange for massive debt relief.
Egypt has repeatedly rejected plans for the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million Palestinian inhabitants to be relocated, terming such mass displacement a “red line.”
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It led diplomatic efforts this month against a plan floated by US President Donald Trump for the United States to “take over” and “own” the war-hit enclave after its inhabitants have been relocated to Egypt or Jordan.
